


It Ends Here

by bluebunny16



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - GTA, Alternate Universe - Gang World, Gen, Possible torture, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-30
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 08:17:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 18,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2381291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebunny16/pseuds/bluebunny16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geoff Ramsey is the most notorious and most feared criminal in the country. That is until he gets a new rival by the name of Burnie Burns, who had left Geoff's world several years prior. Now he has to build up his gang and face the man he used to call his best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Michael

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not very happy with how chapter one turned out, but so far I like how the other chapters turned out better. I'll probably rewrite this soon, but we'll see.

“Please, I’ll do anything…”

Michael grinned at the helpless man on the floor. There was nothing that he could say that would change Michael’s mind. The dude had fucked up, plain and simple and he was going to pay.

“You didn’t follow orders, Smith. You know what happens when people don’t follow orders,” he drawled as he pulled out his gun slowly, so as to tantalize the man.

“I did, though! It was that idiot, Free that screwed it up!” he shouted.

Michael rolled his eyes, something as insignificant as Free shouldn’t be enough to stop his plans.

“I’m tired of hearing excuses, Smith. Say goodbye.”

“Sir, please-”

Those were the last words Michael heard Smith say before pulling the trigger.

\-----

Michael hadn’t always been this way. He used to be caring and forgiving, but everyone has something go wrong in life. His life just so happened to go wrong in his earlier years; when he was fifteen to be exact. His mother had died a few years earlier, and his dad turned to the bottle for comfort. His father lost his job around the time Michael had turned fifteen for missing too much work and their measly income went out the door. So, Michael took it upon himself to start supporting his family of two.

He had been boxing for as long as he could remember. He had given it up only a year before so it didn’t take him long to get back into shape. He had originally just been hustling people in bars, after getting a fake ID. Act like he couldn’t play pool, then kick ass. The boxing came in handy when people would get angry at their loss and decided to get physical. It was during one of these fights that Michael got noticed by none other than Geoff Ramsey.

Michael had chosen a guy that had had a beer or two too many and was bragging about how many he had slept with. Those kinds of guys were easy to convince to play a game of pool, and lost easily thanks to the alcohol. Tugging on his beanie, he walked up to the pool table and started making poor shots, his cursing finally getting the attention of his next victim. The man walked up to him, laughing loudly.

“Look at how bad this guy is,” he said quite loudly and the younger man glared at him.

“Oh yeah? I bet you twenty bucks that you can’t beat me,” Michael retorted and was pleased when the man smiled.

“You’re on. Easiest twenty bucks I’ll ever make.”

The younger man let the stranger win a couple of rounds and thought he was playing up his part as the sore loser quite well.

“Just one more rematch! Double or nothing,” he begged and the drunk man agreed quickly. By now the bet had gotten up to eighty dollars.

Michael won easily and the guy’s face got red when he lost and he couldn’t tell if it was from anger or alcohol, guessing a combination of both. The other man slammed down the beer he was taking a swig from and got in Michael’s face.

“Listen here you little shit, I know you hustled me! I don’t owe you shit!”

A taller man with dark brown hair and covered in tattoos walked up to the duo and pointed to the drunk man.

“You lost fair and square, dude. You owe him.”

The man took out his wallet and handed the champion the money, but once Michael had his back turned he pounced and the two went crashing to the floor. It didn’t take Michael long to get the man off of him and knocked him unconscious.

“You fight pretty well, kid. What kind of training did you get?”

Michael shrugged.

“I took some classes for about eight years.”

Geoff nodded and rubbed his chin, thinking.

“What would you say to getting proper training? I’ll pay and you come work for me.”

Michael looked at him skeptically.

“Why would I do that?”

Geoff grinned and put his hand on Michael’s shoulder.

“Everyone has their price.”

That’s how Michael got started in the business. Geoff gave him a ride home since it was late at night and Michael told him everything. He listened to the kid’s story without much interruption, just a few questions here and there. Michael took the job offer immediately once he heard how much the older man was willing to pay.

\-----

With his high salary, it didn’t take Michael long to pay off all of the bills that his father had accumulated. But also with the high salary, his father started drinking more since he could suddenly afford it. It was one of these nights that he started turning violent as well.

Michael had just walked in from a day of working for Geoff. He had dropped out of school since the money was so good and worked full time. Geoff gave him the day off early with it being Michael’s sixteenth birthday and he was ready to celebrate. On his way home he had stopped by the grocery store and bought himself a cake.

Mr. Jones was sitting on the couch fast asleep, with a half-empty bottle of vodka in one hand and an empty bottle of beer in the other. Michael sighed and grabbed the bottles to throw them away and his father’s eyes opened quickly, glaring at his only son.

“You no good piece of shit, don’t touch what isn’t yours!” he shouted and threw the beer bottle, hitting Michael on the forehead.

Shocked, it took Michael a second to register the pain and didn’t notice the blood until something wet started dripping into his eyes.

“You think you’re so good now that you make all the money, huh? Is that what your problem is?!” his father continued as he got up and started hitting Michael repeatedly.

Once Michael realized what was happening, he shoved his father off of him and ran to his room locking the door. Happy birthday to him.

The abuse didn’t stop, either. It took a few weeks before Geoff noticed the change in his favorite employee. He didn’t joke around as much and had taken to wearing long-sleeved shirts to hide the bruises even in the hot Texas weather. One day his boss called him into his office.

“Michael, what the fuck is wrong with you? Your trainer said you haven’t been fighting nearly as well lately and I’ve noticed you’re just not yourself. What’s going on?”

Michael rubbed his arm subconsciously, over the spot where his father had hit him last night. Geoff got up and grabbed his arm, sliding the sleeve up and gasped in surprise.

“Who did this to you?”

Michael bit his lip and looked away.

“It’s not his fault. I know I could beat him up easily, but he’s the only family I have left…”

His boss narrowed his eyes and pulled Michael’s sleeve back down.

“That son of a bitch won’t be harming you anymore, especially if I have anything to say about it.”

Michael didn’t argue.


	2. Gavin

“Welcome to Austin,” a female voice over the intercom said.

Gavin took a deep breath and smiled faintly. It felt good to get away from...well from something he didn’t want to think about. It had taken him several months to get out of that sticky situation back in England and he was glad the opportunity finally presented itself for him to escape. The only issue was that he had little to no time to plan once he got the chance, so he wasn’t very prepared. The only things he had time for was booking a last-minute plane ticket and grabbing the very few essentials that would fit in his bookbag.

He had graduated from college with a degree in computer programming. It helped it keep a stable enough job that provided decent money, but nothing could keep him in England with that man. The man that ruined his life. Shaking his head, Gavin headed towards the front doors and called a cab going to the nearest bar. He deserved a drink after everything he had gone through.

\-----

The cab ride took only a few minutes and he arrived at the bar around eight in the evening. Definitely late enough for him to have a few drinks, he reasoned. Then, he’d go to the nearest hotel and try to get a plan formed in his mind. Just up and leaving to a different country had left him a bit frazzled.

He walked in and sat at the bar, ordering a beer and had just started nursing it when his phone rang and he felt a pang of fear. It was possible that they’d already be after him, he hadn’t even thought about disposing of his current phone and getting a new one. But he was also good enough to realize there was a tracking device planted in it in England and had disposed of it immediately. Looking at the number, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hello, Monty. What’s up?”

It turned out Monty was having issues with his computer, something that he couldn’t fix himself. Gavin and Monty had worked together quite a few times at their place of employment and it was rare one needed help from the other with these kinds of problems. Gavin talked his friend through the issue and smoothly avoided the question of if he wanted to meet Monty out for lunch tomorrow. It wouldn’t take his friend long to figure out what had happened and he wasn’t in the mood to explain everything at the moment.

“Wow, that sounded technical,” the guy next to him commented. Gavin nodded and took another drink.

“It was something he could have really handled himself, but I think work is stressing him out too much,” he explained and the guy nodded in understanding.

“So I take it you work with computers. Maybe a programmer?” the guy asked.

“Technically that’s what my degree is, but I prefer work that’s a little more complicated.”

“Oh? Like what?”

Gavin shrugged and raised his now empty glass to the bartender. The guy next to him faced him fully once the Brit got his second beer and held up two fingers to the bartender who returned with two shot glasses full of whisky.

“It looks like you could use something a little harder. My treat,” the stranger said and Gavin agreed. He’d take a free drink any day.

After getting a few shots and a couple glasses of beer in the guy, Geoff started asking questions.

“So, what brings you here to America?”

“I was in a really bad situation back in England,” Gavin slurred.

“Like what?” Geoff pressed. The younger man took another drink of his third beer.

“I had a boyfriend, well now he’s my ex, that’s been acting crazy the past few months. I don’t know what really changed him like that to be honest. One day he would act like everything was tippy top then the next he’d be yelling at me and telling me what a piece of crap I was to him. Actually, now that I think about it, it started around the time I started doing some extra jobs on the side to make more money.

It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle at first, when it was just verbal. But then one day he came home drunk off of his arse and started beating me for no reason. Said I was looking at him funny or something. Anyway, I decided it was time to get out but it was difficult. It actually took me three months until I could get away. I never got the chance, until last night. He had gotten called away on urgent business and would have to be away for a couple of days.

I couldn’t risk him actually being away for the whole time, it was the longest we’d ever been apart. He didn’t trust me enough to leave me out of his sight once the abuse began. So, the second he left I packed this bag, booked a flight, and here I am. I’m just worried about how long before they start looking for me,” Gavin annotated with a slur.

“What kind of side jobs were you doing?” Geoff finally asked after being quiet for a few moments to absorb the information.

“A guy at work was in some kind of trouble with the local gang. He owed them money or something. Anyway, they needed help taking a guy out that had been giving them trouble and I owed this guy a favor. He mentioned my name and I went to work for them; helped them track the guy pretty quickly, too. I realized quickly how much better I am at that than the basic legal computer stuff so that’s how I started making most of my income. Dan didn’t approve.”

Geoff shook his head at the bartender as he started to approach the already intoxicated man with another drink.

“Gavin, if you’d like you could start working for me. I can offer a good salary and protection for if these guys decide to come after you.”

Gavin looked at the older man for a minute before gripping his drink tighter and nodding slowly.

“Deal.”


	3. Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys! I'm glad you like my fic so far. The first five chapters are pretty much introductory, and we'll get to the action around chapter six. I'm currently working on chapter nine so it's weird to be going back and posting these when I'm so far ahead. And let me know more about what relationships you want! So far I've seen a request for the r&r connection

“Thanks for meeting me on such short notice,” Geoff said to his acquaintance.

“Anything for you, Mr. Ramsey. What do you need my services for?”

Geoff sat back in his chair and nodded to his bodyguard. Michael walked up with a small folder and placed in on the table, in front of the other man. Grabbing the folder, he skimmed through the few pages and furrowed his eyebrows.

“This guy has been following you?”

The leader of the country’s most infamous gang nodded again and folded his hands behind his head, leaning his chair back on the back two legs.

“Free has had difficulty keeping his eye on him, even with all of the cameras we have installed. I’m not sure what he wants and it’s not something I care to deal with. He’s a crafty son of a bitch and I’d give him my attention if I had more time. I just need someone with the brains to take him down. He’s broken through Free’s firewall at least once now and got some information we’d rather he didn’t have,” Geoff explained.

Jon smiled and closed the folder, sliding it back to the boss.

“I have just the guy for you.”

\-----

The Mad King was definitely not what Geoff was expecting when he went to Risinger. He was a man that had proven himself time and time again to get the kind of people Geoff needed, depending on the situation.

“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice,” Geoff said to the man in the mask. He found himself saying this quite often, but he liked to keep the people he paid happy.

The Mad King crossed his arms and fixed Geoff with a cold stare, causing the latter to smile. Jon had warned him that he wasn’t the type of guy to show emotion. Which made him even more perfect for the job.

“I’m sure Risinger has explained the basics of what’s going on. We have a guy who likes to play a game of cat and mouse. Just as soon as we think we have him, he’s disappeared with more information. Luckily, it’s nothing too terribly important but we don’t want it to turn into something important being stolen. We have one of the best tech guys and even he’s befuddled. I want you to do what you think is necessary to take care of the threat,” the tattooed man explained. It felt like he was talking to a wall with how little the Mad King responded.

“By when would you like the threat eliminated?” he finally asked.

Geoff handed him a briefcase and stood up, throwing some bills on the table at his favorite restaurant. He liked to conduct a lot of his business here and he paid the owner enough to keep his head turned the other way.

“As soon as possible. Here’s my number, call if you need anything.”

\-----

Geoff was walking up to one of his safe houses when he heard footsteps coming up behind him and he immediately pulled his gun and got ready to fire. He didn’t get the chance, though, before two strong arms had him pinned and to the ground. Grunting, he turned around and saw it was none other than Ryan that had tackled him.

“What the fuck?!” he screeched and the Mad King clamped his hand over his mouth.

“Shh. I’ve been doing some research and I’m ninety-nine percent sure there’s a bomb in there,” he said quietly while pulling Geoff back to his feet, “don’t say anything. I’m not sure if they’re watching or not. Stay here.”

The boss didn’t have any time to say anything before Ryan climbed up a tree and entered through one of the second-story windows. Within a matter of minutes, he walked out the front door with the diffused bomb in one hand and dragging an unconscious man with the other. Geoff jogged up to him in surprise with a questioning look.

“I believe this is the man that’s been screwing with you,” Ryan scoffed as he dropped the enemy.

Geoff pulled out his cell phone and called Michael, who was now twenty and told him to come take care of the problem.

“How did you know about the bomb?”

Ryan tossed said bomb in the air and caught it casually.

“I looked into the information Free had gotten on him and recognized the work. He’s harmless overall, he just likes to put fear into other gang members. He jumps around from gang to gang, known as Blaine Gibson. He’s a good fighter, though, I’ve seen him in action. Once I realized who was doing all of this I followed him and he ended up here. I’ve been hiding in the bushes waiting for you to get home. I didn’t want to raise an alarm and make Gibson suspicious.”

Geoff stared at the man in awe and by then Michael had driven up with a couple extra guys.

“We’ll take care of him Geoff,” the shorter man stated while getting Gibson in the back seat after tying him up.

Michael left just as quickly as he came and Geoff cleared his throat.

“We could really use someone like you on our team-”

“You don’t have to ask. I’m in.”


	4. Jack

“Hey! You!”

The bigger man turned around and glared at the guys that yelled at him. He really wasn’t in the mood to be dealing with anyone tonight. He just wanted to get home and enjoy a hard drink to try and forget the events of today.

“Give us your wallet and no one gets hurt,” the shortest of the thugs said. He had to be at least half Jack’s size but was trying to make himself look bigger by puffing out his chest. Jack couldn’t get a good look of the guy’s face since he was wearing a rain coat with the hood up. He wished he had thought to grab a rain coat himself since it started pouring just a few minutes prior.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Jack scoffed in his deep voice, hoping to intimidate the thugs without much luck.

One of the guys was wearing a mask with his hair in a ponytail so Jack couldn’t see his expression. The other man pulled his hood down and revealed a head full of brown curly hair and a face full of freckles. He didn’t look like the kind of guy to do something like this. Jack was ready for the first attack from the guy in the mask and he deflected him easily. Grabbing his throat, Jack slammed him to the ground and the guy stayed down.

The shorter man with a slight Jersey accent came at him next, managing to punch Jack in the stomach making him double over when he lost his breath. He then knocked him to the ground and noticed too late that’s what Jack was hoping for. Grabbing his ankle, Jack pulled his attacker to the ground and punched him knocking his head to the side.

The attacker held the the area where he got punched and grimaced, spitting out some blood. The other man came to and Jack turned to walk away when the younger man caught his attention.

“Wait. I have a job offer you may be interested in.”

\-----

“I’m impressed, Michael. I wasn’t expecting you and Ryan to find a replacement so quickly,” Geoff praised as he mussed the shorter man’s hair affectionately. Michael knocked his hand off and glared at his boss.

“You know how much I hate that,” he muttered causing the others in the room to laugh.

“Go to your trainer so you can get ready for your first fight. I’m going to talk to your new buddy Jack.”

Michael and Ryan left the room quietly and Geoff turned to look at his newest employee. Recently more people in town had gotten into hiring people to box for them and making profits on the bets. So far Geoff had entered his favorite employee in a few different matches to see how he’d fare and he had one every round so far. So, the boss offered him a change of jobs from bodyguard to professional boxer and he agreed. In the mean time, he had to find a replacement which is why they tried to “mug” Jack. It turned out better than Geoff would could have ever dreamed. They found the replacement on the first attempt.

“Where did you learn to fight like that? You took down two of my best men.”

Jack shrugged and crossed his arms, absentmindedly rubbing one of the many scars covering his arms.

“I grew up in a not-so-great part of town. I had to learn to defend myself somehow.”

“Well, you accepted the job offer pretty quickly. Some of the things you’ll be doing is following me around like a puppy and watching my back. I’d never had a bodyguard until I hired Michael five years ago but it’s made my life a hell of a lot easier. I can get more shit done without having to constantly watch my back. Sometimes you’ll run little errands for me like delivering messages and boring shit like that but it has to get done. Now, let me tell you about our biggest problem…”


	5. Ray

“This is the man I want you to kill.”  
Ray grabbed the photo and stifled his gasp of surprise. It wasn’t because it’s a mission he couldn’t complete, he was just surprised by the man in the picture. The most infamous gang leader in America stared at him with cold, unfeeling eyes. Ray clenched his jaw and looked back to his boss, Burnie Burns.   
“How much are you paying and when do you want it done?”   
Burnie grinned and he adjusted his glasses, writing a figure down on a piece of paper and sliding it across the table. Ray picked it up and smirked. It was at least three more zeroes than he was expecting. The date was also a couple days more than he had expected.   
“I’ll call you when it’s taken care of.”   
\-----   
Ray had been given several nicknames with how long he’d been in the killing business. One of the best assassins in the world had its perks. One of them was his ability to strike fear into someone just by giving them a look. Most of the people he went after would laugh in his face with how small he was. Short and lanky didn’t necessarily fit the description of skilled assassin. He was known for leaving roses at the scene of the crime, causing the nickname Rose Whisperer which was his favorite.   
He was amazed when he got a call from Risinger saying that someone wanted to hire him to kill someone that may actually be a bit of a challenge. That was enough to make him accept the deal before even finding out who he’d be hunting down. Burnie Burns had hired him a couple times previously, but those weren’t kills that stuck out in Ray’s mind. This one would, though. Geoff Ramsey was one of the most wanted men in the country with a high price on his head. A higher reward for if he was caught alive. Luckily for Ray, Burnie just wanted the problem taken care of which is what he was best at.  
He’d been sitting outside of one of Geoff’s safe houses for an hour with his sniper trained on the living room. Geoff hadn’t gotten home until just a few minutes before and Ray could feel a cramp in his thigh from sitting in the same position for so long. Finally, he’d get to finish this job, get his pay, and take a little vacation for himself. Ray readjusted the sniper and waited for Geoff to sit down and grab his xBox controller, something he did every night before going to bed as the Rose Whisperer had observed. Silly people with their routines.   
Getting his finger ready, he wasn’t expected the sudden pain that pierced his abdomen and looked down in shock to see blood seeping through his favorite shirt. He fell to the ground and the last time he saw was a big man with a ginger beard hovering over him.  
\------   
It took Ray a while to wake up and when he did he was tied to a chair. He looked around as he waited for his vision to clear up and moved a bit to get feeling to his legs. When he moved his torso, he felt a tugging sensation and looked down to see he was wearing a new clean shirt. He guessed it was stitches that caused the tugging feeling. When did someone find him on the ground? No one could get to the house without being undetected he figured out the hard way.   
For the first time he felt fear when he looked into the eyes of the man that had been standing across the room from him, waiting patiently for him to regain his senses. The taller man uncrossed his arms and slowly walked forward.  
“How did you get on my property without being detected until the last second?” he questioned.   
Ray felt a wave of nausea and looked away, gagging. Geoff grinned and waited for him to get back to normal.  
“How long did it take you to find out I was there?” Ray fired back making Geoff laugh.  
“One of my men spotted you in the tree. When he was driving in, the lights on his car caught your watch. It was by pure chance that he caught you. I’d be dead now otherwise.”   
The assassin gulped as a dry feeling crept its way to his mouth. Geoff knew what he was there for and he’d want revenge.  
“I’m actually quite impressed with your skills, Rose Whisperer. Yeah, I know who you are. I’ve actually been wanting to meet you for a while now and I’m glad to finally get the chance. Even considering the circumstances. I don’t want to hurt you, so I’m going to need you to do something for me. Accept this job offer.”


	6. Assassination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So I'm almost done writing this story and I'm going to continue updating daily but I have a tumblr so if you guys want you can send me prompts for more future stories you might want to read so here it is   
> gopherkicker.tumblr.com

“Geoff, I don’t trust him. You don’t even know much about him and we don’t know if he’s going to decide to just kill all of us in our sleep one night!” Michael yelled.

Geoff sighed and poured himself another scotch on the rocks, handing Michael a bottle of his favorite beer. Sometimes it helped calm the younger man down.

“I understand how you feel, Michael. But I trust him and that should be enough for you,” he spat. It wasn’t very often Geoff had to play the boss card, but it was getting close.

Michael huffed and took a long drink, turning away and looking out the window.

“Why? Why did you decide to hire him?”

Geoff finished off his drink and poured himself another. He’d need a lot of alcohol to get through this conversation and keep any patience.

“I don’t extend a job offer to just any random guy on the street. Although, the closest to that would be Jack. I see something in him that none of my other employees have. I think he’s just what I need to stay on top. It’s taken me years to get my reputation, Michael, and I intend on keeping it.”

It was his boss’s tone of voice that prevented Michael from saying anything else. He trusted the man that saved him and he trusted his judgement, most of time. He just didn’t see why they had to have an assassin on their team.

“He tried killing you, Geoff. And there’s nothing stopping him from trying again.”

“Oh, but there is. I spared his life.”

\-----

Ray walked into the kitchen of the Achievement Hunter Headquarters and pulled a mountain dew from the fridge while ignoring the glares from several of Geoff’s other employees. So far the only one that accepted Ray was Ryan, much to his surprise. It probably had something to do with Ryan doing similar work in the past. He understood what it was like.

“Ray. Geoff wants to talk to you,” Jack said shortly as he walked into the kitchen. He had been the one responding the worst to the new hire. Well, second worst compared to Michael. Ray nodded and walked out, taking the elevator to the top floor and he knocked three times before walking into the office.

Geoff was sitting at his deck with his feet propped up and leaning back, almost to the point of falling. He was on the phone and gesturing wildly throughout the conversation, pointing Ray to the seat directly in front of him.

“No, I’m glad you called. Keep me posted on if you hear anything else from him,” Geoff stated before hanging up the phone and turning his attention to the small man.

“How’re you liking it here so far?”

Ray shrugged as he opened his soda and took a swig.

“The people here really seem to like me,” he replied sarcastically.

Geoff smirked and took his feet off of the desk. sitting normally with his fingers interlaced on his desk.

“It’s not very often I call someone to my office, just so you know. So when I do, it’s for something serious,” Geoff explained. Ray paused mid-drink and put his soda down.

“Okay. What’s up?”

“Why did you try to kill me?”

Ray wasn’t expecting that question. He was slowly learning to expect the unexpected when it came to his boss.

“I was hired.”

“By whom?” the assassin paused.

“A guy that was willing to pay me five million dollars to have your head on a platter,” Ray said slowly, hoping it would be enough to satisfy the older man. It wasn’t.

“Give me a name, Narvaez. You may work for me now, but that won’t stop me from getting the answers I want. And this is at the top of my list,” Geoff threatened.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, the younger man finally sighed.

“I’ve worked for him a few times, but those were all small jobs. I got a call from one of my guys the other day saying someone wanted to hire me for a kill that would actually challenge me for once so of course I accepted. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to have fun with one of these jobs. I don’t know many details, just that I’ve never seen someone so hellbent on having someone else killed. He asked no questions and offered more money than I was expecting. He wanted the job done quickly and swiftly.”

Geoff narrowed his eyes.

“Tell me his fucking name, Narvaez.”

“Burnie Burns.”

Geoff stood abruptly from his chair and muttered a string of curses, momentarily forgetting Ray was there. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number, waiting for the person to answer.

“Jack, find the rest of the guys. We’ve got a problem.”

Ray stood up to leave but the glare Geoff gave him made him sit back down and look at the floor. It was weird for him to actually feel bad about taking a job, but Geoff was doing a good job of making him feel guilty. It took ten minutes before four other guys walked into the room without knocking. They all took a seat and looked at their boss expectantly.

“Gavin, what do you know about Burnie Burns?”

The Brit pulled out his laptop and typed in a few things while Geoff waited somewhat patiently for an answer.

“He’s popped up on some of our outside cameras a few times, nothing too suspicious. He has his own gang, something small. It’s located here in Achievement City but they obviously haven’t done much to warrant our attention. His right hand man, woman, is Barbara Dunkelman. Looks like she’s a badass yes man. I’ll have to do a bit more research to find out more about his other employees,” Gavin finished.

Geoff rubbed his beard and suddenly slammed his hand on his desk, startling everyone.

“What’s going on?” Michael asked.

“I haven’t heard from Burns in a long time. The last time I saw him we had a big fight over something stupid and he swore he’d get his revenge. But so far the only thing he’s done is send someone to kill me, which really isn’t much. As you said, Gavin, they haven’t done anything to get our attention. I don’t think he’s a big threat right now but just watch your backs, guys. I don’t want him getting any ideas,” Geoff explained.

“Me and Jack are going to switch on and off with watching you, Geoff. I don’t have a match for a few more weeks and-”

Geoff held up his hand to silence the curly-haired man.

“No. We’re going to proceed like everything is normal. I’m not overly worried about what this could mean and I don’t want them to get the idea that we know anything if they are watching. So go back to acting like normal. If anything comes up, we’ll make a plan.”

Michael shut his mouth, fuming. He wanted to do everything in his power to protect the man that had made his life better; it’s why he agreed to start boxing for him professionally. He’d do whatever it took to pay back that debt. There was something off about this Burnie Burns fellow, and he was determined to find out what.


	7. Uno

Kerry was whistling as he walked down the street towards his home. It had been a rather productive day working with the AH gang. His main job was planning out drug deals, the when and the where, a job he quite enjoyed. It took a lot of careful planning to decide who would go and do what or else someone could be killed. And that death would be on his shoulders. Thinking about how the next drug deal would go down was what distracted Kerry, otherwise he would have been more prepared and vigilant.

Taking the alley behind his apartment, he was expecting to get home quickly instead of being shoved into the wall. A body held him there, a hand making its way to his throat and cutting off his oxygen. He wasn’t really paying attention to what the attacker was saying since he was too preoccupied with trying to get away, but one phrase did stand out.

“Tell your boss, Ramsey, to watch his back.”

The pain in his side was almost unbearable and he grunted as he fell to the floor, gripping where he was stabbed. It wasn’t a wound that was meant to be lethal, but it hurt like a bitch. Slowly pulling out his phone, he called his neighbor and co-worker to help.

It only took Miles Luna a minute to get out of his apartment and run to his friend, calling Michael on the way.

“What happened, Kerry?” he asked while applying pressure to the wound. He noticed it wasn’t anything too bad but it would require a few stitches.

“I don’t know...I was walking home and he was suddenly there.”

“What did he look like?” Miles pressed for more information.

“I don’t know! He snuck up behind me! I remember him saying…” Kerry trailed off as he fainted from the pain.

Miles cursed and willed Michael to get there quicker. He would know what to do.

\-----

The office was deathly silent and the only person moving in the room was Geoff, pacing back and forth. No one else dared to make a sound when he was this mad. It was one thing for Burnie to send someone after him, but it was a whole different ballgame when he went after Geoff’s men. It was his duty to protect those who worked for him.

“Well? Does anyone have any information on the attacks that happened this week?” he seethed. They all flinched, even knowing the anger wasn’t directed towards him.

“Kerry will be fine, it was a shallow wound. Arryn, however...she’ll be in the hospital for a few more days. Miles is going crazy while waiting to hear from the doctors,” Jack finally replied.

Ryan tapped his chin in thought as it got quiet again.

“How did you know Chris was going to be attacked next?” Geoff questioned the man in the mask.

“It’s a pattern. A pretty elementary one at that. It appears he’s going in the order of importance. For example, Kerry plans all of the drug deals but that’s not much compared to Arryn going out on the field and actually selling the drugs. One more step up was Chris who takes care of all of our weapons. If this proves to be true, they’ll be after Meg next and it won’t take long before he’s on to us,” Ryan stated in a monotone. The stress of dealing with this mess was starting to get to everyone. Geoff sighed and sat in his chair, spinning it back and forth.

“I have to protect my people, it’s as simple as that. I’m hoping the pattern Ryan noticed is accurate. Ray, you’ll be watching over Meg while we get a better plan together. If anyone goes after her, don’t be afraid to kill them. By this point I’m not too worried about any casualties,” Geoff finally decided.

Ray nodded and got up, leaving to find Meg the bodyguard. She was easily one of the best protectors in this agency, right behind Jack and Michael. But Geoff didn’t want to risk anything.

“The rest of you, watch your backs,” he added before dismissing them with a wave of his hand. Michael hesitated and stayed behind, watching his boss.

“Did you need something, Michael?” The boxer bit his lip in hesitation.

“You need more protection yourself, Geoff. Maybe this is Burns plan; distract you by attacking your members so you’d quit focusing on yourself then come for you. It’s not that bad of a plan, actually,” he admitted.

Geoff had a lopsided grin and looked some-what relaxed for the first time in a while.

“I appreciate your concern, Michael, I really do. But before you and Jack I took care of myself and I can do that again. I’m still going to go about my life as normal but I want the two of you watching over this building and helping Gavin watch the cameras. You’ll still go to your competition tomorrow and we’re going to pretend like this isn’t a big deal.”

Michael shook his head in anger but knew better than to question Geoff’s authority. He had done that enough in the past week and he knew it wouldn’t be too long before Geoff did something about it.

\-----

Gavin put in his earbuds and picked a random playlist on his phone. It was only five but he decided to call it a day and get home early for some rest. Everyone being on high alert made his job more difficult. He had so many cameras to watch and he was only one man. Although, Michael helping him more made things easier.

He waved to the security guard at the front door and took a right towards his apartment. It was only a fifteen minute walk and the Brit turned up his music. It helped him feel less stressed. Suddenly, someone shoved him and he fell into a nearby alley. The person that shoved him ran in behind him and pinned him to the ground, holding a knife to his throat.

“Oh, look at who we have here. I thought Geoff’s lackeys would be more vigilant but apparently not. Have we not made ourselves clear enough?” a deep voice questioned rhetorically. “Maybe we need to do something about this.”

He pressed the knife harder into Gavin’s neck, enough to draw blood and he was too scared to move. Just as the attacker started to dig the knife in more, he was thrown off of Gavin and fell to the wall. The shock wore off quickly and he looked at the person who attacked him, sneering.

“It’s been a while since I last saw you, Michael,” he chuckled and removed his mask.

Michael glared and stood in front of Gavin protectively.

“The last time I saw you I kicked your ass five ways to Sunday. Do we need a repeat performance?” Michael asked through clenched teeth. “Or did you forget about that? After putting that bomb in Geoff’s house then Ryan taking care of your sorry ass. You woke up here to my beautiful face where I beat the shit out you. Do you need a reminder?”

He cracked his knuckles threateningly and for the first time Blaine showed a hint of fear. Instead of saying anything, he took off running the other way and Michael went after him. But after a few last second turns into the crowd, the boxer lost sight of him and he headed back to Gavin dejectedly.

“What happened to watching your back?!” Gavin gulped. He’d never seen Michael this angry.

“What happened to Ryan saying that guy was harmless?”


	8. The Plan

“Do you know what you’re going to say?” Ryan asked while getting an earpiece ready.

“Of course. You guys have bloody drilled it in my head so I can’t forget,” Gavin retorted, shifting around uncomfortably. “Why me, Geoff? Wouldn’t Ray or Ryan be better for this?” The Brit asked.

Geoff crossed him arms and glared at the man sitting in his chair in his office.

“We’ve already been over this. You’re the only one we’d have a remote chance of getting Burns to trust. He knows too much about the others,” Geoff said with a tone of authority effectively silencing any questions Gavin had. Huffing, he crossed his arms and pouted much to everyone’s annoyance.

“Gavin, shut the fuck up and do your part. We all have to pull our weight to keep each other safe,” Michael stated in an annoyed tone.

He was right and Gavin knew it, but he still didn’t want to admit it. Why would they want the tech guy out on the field? He was best behind the computer screen, not in front of it. Ryan finally fixed the earpiece he had been working on, handing it to Gavin.

“We’ll be able to talk to you and vice versa. The code word is watermelon if you need us to go in there and get you out if there’s any danger. Go home and get ready for tomorrow,” Ryan said in a tone that left no room for back talk. Gavin didn’t even want to argue at this point so he simply got up and left.

\-----

“You used to work for the Achievement Hunters, eh?” the man with short brown hair and glasses asked suspiciously. Gavin nodded, playing his part perfectly.

“Geoff is a bloody asshole. He didn’t care about any of us, he’s just in this for the profit. When he hired me he gave a spiel on protection bullshit,” Gavin said with feigned anger.

Burnie leaned back in his chair and watched Gavin for minute before slowly smiling.

“And you want to get him back.”

The Brit nodded and clenched his fists. He hated doing this assignment, he really did.

“Just say silent for a moment. It sounds like he’s taking the bait,” a voice in his ear advised. Gavin clenched his jaw and waiting for Burnie to speak up again.

“We’d love to have you working for us, Gavin. Is there any information on Ramsey that may be useful?”

“Tell him about the drug deal that’s going on next Tuesday,” the voice replied.

Gavin relayed the information and was able to answer any questions Burnie had.

“I want you to still work for Ramsey,” Burnie started, “and play the spy. Keep getting information from him and give it to me as new stuff arises.”

Gavin agrees quickly, hearing Geoff’s relieved sigh in the background.

\-----

Burnie had made a “surprise” visit to the drug deal, as planned and Gavin was rewarded greatly for the accurate information. He quickly rose through the ranks and became one of Burnie’s top men, right behind Barbara. It was still strange to get to know the enemy. Gavin found out that even though Barbara could kill a man with a paper clip without remorse, she also had a horrible taste for puns. Joel was their main tech guy who kept mostly to himself but also had a dry sense of humor, much like Ryan’s. Gus liked to stay behind the scenes and took care of drug deals and weapon supplies.

Even though Ryan had said that Blaine was harmless, that quickly proved to not be the case. He did most of Burnie’s dirty work and he knew when to run versus fight. He taught Gavin a few basic self-defense moves. It was Lindsay that was hardest for Gavin to figure out. She was the only one that didn’t trust him but didn’t announce it to the world like Michael would have. She was the silent and calculating type and someone that Gavin wouldn’t want to meet in a dark place at any time.

“So, do you have any new information for us my boy?” Burnie asked and put a hand on Gavin’s shoulder.

“Nothing too interesting, really. From what I’ve seen they’re trying to play it safe for now. I’ve caught snippets that Geoff may be planning something big but haven’t found out what.”

His boss smiled and clapped excitedly.

“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Gav. Well, right behind meeting my wife. I’ve got some information for you as well.”

The Brit raised an eyebrow questioningly. It wasn’t very often that Burns offered information willingly, unless it was something that ended up being useful to Ramsey.

“It’s about your dear boss over there. Ever heard of a woman named Griffon O’Connell?”

The name rang a bell.

“She used to be Geoff’s fiancee. Until she went missing about six years ago and no one knew what happened. She was the one Geoff trusted the most but I found out he was the one that caused her to go missing after some lover’s quarrel,” Burnie explained.

Gavin’s blood ran cold. He could vaguely remember Geoff talking to someone on the phone about a Griffon but couldn’t remember the details. He also knew that his boss hadn’t dated anyone in six years, just before he hired Michael. He heard a couple noises from his earpiece, then nothing. If Geoff could turn on someone that he loved so quickly, who was to say what would happen to anyone else in the gang?


	9. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm going to be busy for the next few days so chapter 10 is going to be a bit late.

It became clear quickly that Ryan hadn’t said anything about what Gavin found out about their boss, much to the Brit’s confusion. He had expected him to go racing up to their boss and make a big deal about it. But so far...nothing. Gavin closed his laptop and sighed, putting away some paperwork before heading home. He mostly stayed at the Achievement Hunter office, only going to visit Burnie when he called or if he got new information.

He couldn’t get Burnie’s words out of his head. How could Geoff have just gotten rid of the love of his life so easily? There was trust between them and he broke it. It cause the younger man to start having second thoughts about this gang. These operations didn’t work without trust and he was afraid of what could happen to him if he pissed Geoff of one time too many. It’s why he had been walking on eggshells around the man.

“Hey, Gav!”

He turned around and waved to the man who had yelled at him.

“Hey, Ray. What’s up?”

“Not much, dude. I’m about to head to my place. Wanna come over and play video games?”

He wanted to, he really did but he had work to do for Burns. Just as he was about to decline the request, Ray held his hand up.

“Dude, you need to take a break. Playing the double agent is clearly getting to you. Take the rest of the night off and play video games,” the shorter man suggested.

“Alright. I’m in,” Gavin finally decided.

\-----

“Dude! Watch it!” Ray shouted right as Gavin’s character got killed. Again.

“What the hell, Ray?! You were supposed to be covering for me!”

The assassin laughed and pushed Gavin off of the couch.

“It’s all for one, dude. Plus you just helped me get an achievement.”

The Brit huffed and smiled as his friend. Their friendship happened easily, unlike with most of the other people in their group of six aside from Ryan. Even then, it was obvious that Geoff became more alert anytime he was around Ray, whether he realized it or not.

“What do you have to eat? I’m starved,” Gavin groaned while rubbing his stomach.

“We can order a pizza or you can find something in the fridge. I don’t really care.”

Gavin pulled out his phone and ordered a couple pizzas. There was no way he was going to cook if he didn’t have to. Sitting back down, Ray paused his game and turned towards his friend.

“Ok, what’s going on with you? This is easily the longest conversation we’ve had tonight. Why are so you quiet?”

The man in question took a deep breath and turned away.

“It’s nothing, Ray. Drop it,” he stated threateningly.

“Does it have anything to do with work? Are you getting too stressed? Did Burnie say something to you?”

Gavin just shook his head and bit his lip, refusing to look back at his friend.

“Maybe I should go…”

Ray didn’t stop him, instead sighing and pulling out his phone to call one of the other guys. He answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Ray. What’s up?” the deep voice asked.

“Are you busy right now?”

“No. I’ll be over in five.”

He hung up the phone and smiled slightly. This was the other person he could think of to talk to about Gavin.

At five minutes on the dot, there was a knock at the door to which Ray yelled for the visitor to come in. Ryan stepped in the room and took his mask off, breathing a sigh of relief.

“I hate wearing this thing so much,” he mumbled.

Ray chuckled and handed his friend a beer. It was the only reason he kept alcohol in his apartment.

“Thanks. So what’s going on?” The Mad King asked as popped the bottle open.

“What’s going on with Gavin?” he questioned, sitting back down to go back to his game. Ryan hesitated, confirming Ray’s fears. It had something to do with Burnie. The only way Ryan would know is he’s the only guy that spoke into the earpiece. Sitting next to Ray, he rubbed his hands together nervously.

“I think it’s just some false information that Burnie gave him to be honest. I’ve done my own research and didn’t come up with much,” he muttered more to himself.

Ray bit his lip but didn’t press the issue. He could tell that Ryan was starting to put his wall back up and it had taken him long enough to tear it down. Leaning over, he kissed Ryan on the cheek.

“We don’t have to talk about it. Let’s just play videogames and talk about anything other than work,” he suggested. Ryan smiled gratefully and picked up the controller Gavin had been using.

\-----

Their romantic relationship had happened on accident. Ryan was having issues with his laptop and Gavin had already gone home for the day. It took a lot to stump the Mad King, and it amused Ray to watch him get so frustrated.

“What’s going on, Ry?”

“My laptop. It won’t turn on no matter what I do,” he said irritably while repeatedly jabbing the power button to no avail. Ray chuckled and sat next to him.

“Is it dead?”

Ryan paused from his assault on the power button and instead smacked himself in the forehead.

“I fucking forgot to charge it last night.”

By this point Ray was laughing so hard he fell out of his chair and had to hold his stomach from the pain of laughing too hard for too long.

“The Mad King gets trumped by a dead laptop. I can see the headlines now,” he said between laughs.

Ryan glared at him as best as he could through his mask and threw an empty cup at the younger man. Ray sat up and looked at him curiously.

“Why do you wear that thing anyway? Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

Ryan shrugged and closed his laptop.

“I like the idea of people not knowing what I look like.”

“Does anyone know what you look like?” Ryan chuckled at the question.

“If they did, they’re six feet under by now.”

Ray got up and returned to his chair, leaning close to Ryan. They had gotten closer over the past two weeks being the only two who truly understood the life of an assassin. Sure, the others had killed several men, but this was different. When Ray was only inches from Ryan’s face, he reached a hand up.

“Can I?”

Ryan nodded slightly, almost so Ray didn’t catch it. Taking his mask off slowly, Ray gasped at the handsome man looking back at him. Mouth open in surprise, Ryan took the opportunity and grabbed Ray’s face holding it gently. When their lips were almost touching he hesitated until Ray closed the distance. It was a slow kiss, but they both felt the electricity.


	10. Redemption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Sorry this update took a few days longer and I'm afraid that's how it's going to be for the next few chapters until I complete a couple of these papers for school. Enjoy:)

“I know that I’m not the only one that’s noticed Gavin’s been off. Do you guys know what’s going on?” Geoff questioned the group.

Ryan hesitated for a second, not long enough for Geoff to notice before shaking his head. It was a weird situation. He couldn’t tell if Burnie was just trying to screw around with Gavin by telling him that story or if it was real facts and they should be more weary around their leader. Everyone else said no and Geoff huffed in annoyance.

“Alright. Go back to work. I’ll talk to Gavin later since he’s giving Burnie more false information as we speak.”

The group disperses and goes their own way, Ryan and Ray sharing a knowing look before walking opposite ends down the hallway. Ray was going to the parking garage and decided to take the stairs so he could stay in shape. He hated working out as much as the next guy so he tried to do the little things to stay active.

Normally these walks are quiet, so when he hears a thud it catches his attention immediately. Silently rounding the corner, he sees none other than Michael being pinned to the wall by a woman Ray had never seen before. Her red hair stood out against her pale skin and he heard her whispering something as she pressed her forearm tighter into Michael’s throat. He was starting to turn blue and that’s when the adrenaline finally kicks in, making Ray run forward.

He used the element of surprise to his advantage by kicking the woman in the side making her release Michael. The boxer fell to the floor, gasping for air. She quickly recovered and tried grabbing Ray but he was too quick, sweeping her legs out from under her. Once he got on her back to stop any movement he restrained her arms with handcuffs and used his cell phone to call Ryan and Jack for backup. While waiting for them Michael got up and glared at his attacker.

“Who the fuck are you?!”

She grinned sweetly and batted her eyelashes.

“I’m your worst nightmare, sweetie. Now can you convince your friend to let me go?”

Michael flipped her off and she attempted to spit on him before Ray pulled her away. Ryan and Jack finally made it downstairs, the Mad King pausing when he noticed who was captured.

“Lindsay? The fuck are you doing here?”

She chuckled quietly and nodded her head towards the shorter man.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for this shortie. I would have taken care of your boxer buddy and been on my way but no he just had to come downstairs.”

Michael didn’t even try to argue with her. He knows he would have been dead if Ray hadn’t showed up when he did. Ray looked back and forth between Lindsay and Ryan questioningly, wondering how they knew each other. Sensing the unasked question, Ryan spoke up.

“We’ve worked together on a couple different missions. We’ve also worked against each other on a couple different missions. It’s a good thing you got down here right at that time, Ray. I’ve seen what she can do.”

He ran a hand over one of the many scars on his torso, lost in a memory. She laughed again and went up the stairs like a good prisoner when Jack guided her that way.

“Keep your eye on her. Ray, go with Jack just to make sure she doesn’t try to pull anything.”

Ray agrees quickly and follows leaving Michael with Ryan.

“So, do you trust him now?” the older man asks mockingly. Michael crosses his arms and looks at the floor.

“He didn’t have to save me. He could have just left me to die after how I’ve been treating him,” Michael agrees. “I guess I owe him an apology.”

“You? Apologize? Oh, I have to see this.”

Michael punches him in the arm and walks up the stairs quickly. Geoff would want to know what happened and would likely want to question the prisoner.

\-----

“There’s some information I’d like for you to give your other boss,” Burnie begins.

Gavin cleared his mind. When it came to things like this, he couldn’t miss any details. A couple of times Burnie has given Gavin false information to give to Geoff to make him look like he was getting some good spying in. But Geoff knew the truth.

“Tell him that his employees should start watching their backs more. I heard his little badass boxer was attacked by one of my people and would have been killed had their little assassin not stepped in. Tell him that you found all of this information while working on one of the computer, I don’t care. Just make sure it’s a feasible lie. We’re going after Meg next, now that he’s starting to focus on the men he keeps closest to him. Tell him that you found out we’re going after Ray for messing up Lindsay’s attempt on Michael’s life,” he finally says.

Gavin nods and plays back all of the information for the gang leader who grins in response.

“You’re one of the best things to happen to us, Free.”

If only you knew, Burns.


	11. Confusion

“Michael, we need to talk,” a british voice said, pulling the boxer away from his work. He spins in his chair and raises an eyebrow at his best friend but gets up and follows him into his office. Gavin wrung his hands together nervously, locking the door behind him.

“What’s going on, buddy?”

Gavin looks out the window and paces back and forth running his hand through his hair nervously. It was starting to get on Michael’s nerves but he knew patience would be his best bet in this situation. There were a lot of things that made Gavin nervous, but never like this.

“I found some information on Geoff, Micoo. And it’s making me nervous,” he finally admitted. Michael clenched his jaw and waited for him to elaborate.

“You’ve heard him talk about a woman named Griffon before. Well, he’s the one who caused her to go missing Michael. I think he killed her,” Gavin stated in a rush.

Michael stood as still as a statue and his eyes narrowed at his best friend.

“That’s fucking ridiculous and you know it, Gavin. Did Burnie tell you that? You know he can’t be trusted. And Geoff would never do something like that!”

Gavin flinched at his tone and looked to the ground. He forgot that Michael would do anything to protect their boss.

“It’s not a lie, though. I looked more into it, on one of Burnie’s computer. It’s the only story that makes sense. The two of them got in a fight and I think she was going to turn him in to the police, back when this gang had no more than a few people. He got mad and couldn’t let her spill his secret,” the taller man explained.

Michael slammed his fist on the table, glaring at his friend and eyes full of fury. Gavin had seen Michael angry before, but not like this.

“Don’t you dare say anything bad about Geoff. He’s give us all better lives and this is how you repay him?! If it weren’t for him your dumbass would be back in England and probably be getting beat by your ex! He would never do anything like that to someone that didn’t deserve it,” Michael seethed.

He turned around and was headed towards the door when Gavin spoke up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had become Geoff’s bitch.”

That was the final straw. Michael turned around and lunged grabbing Gavin around the waist and tackling him to the ground. Rearing back his fist, he punches the Brit repeatedly wherever he can get his hands. Jack came running into the room after hearing the commotion. Pulling Michael off, he glared at the younger man and glanced at Gavin.

“You ok?”

The man still on the floor stayed there and gingerly touched his already swelling eye not bothering to answer. Jack narrows his eyes and crosses his arms going into bodyguard mode.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” he yelled at his mentor.

Michael shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck feeling guilty for lashing out as such.

“We had a disagreement,” he answered simply.

“Disagreements aren’t enough to beat up your best friend.”

“I said something bad about his mum when he pissed me off,” Gavin interrupted as he got up slowly.

Jack adopted a disbelieving look and shook his head.

“You don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. But have fun talking your way out of this one to Geoff.”

As soon as he said his name, their boss entered the room.

“You two assholes my office now.”

\-----

Geoff walked behind his two earliest employees to make sure they didn’t start something while going down the hall. Once they go to his office, he put out three glasses filling them with the nearest alcohol he could grab. Taking a drink, he turned to Michael first.

“What the fuck happened over there, Jones? You two are some of my best men. I never expected this to happen.”

Michael looked at Gavin nervously. The walk down the hall hadn’t been a long one but it had been long enough for him to really feel bad about what he had done. Gavin was the least skilled in the gang when it came to defense and he still acted as though he had been in the ring.

“I can’t tell you,” he finally responded quietly. Geoff spit out the drink he had just taken.

“What do you mean you can’t tell me?! You know I will get the answer out of you two one way or another,” he stated threateningly, leaning over his desk and fixing them a hard stare.

Gavin fidgeted nervously. They had heard stories about what happened to people that didn’t give the gang leader what he wanted. He was hoping that their dedication and loyalty would be enough for him, but it hadn’t worked for Griffon. After a few awkward minutes, the older man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You don’t want to tell me? Fine. You fuck heads better work this out and get the fuck out of my office before I decide to make you tell me.”

The two ran out of his office once he finished speaking each breathing a sigh of relief. After closing the door, the curly-haired man faced his friend.

“Gav, I’m so sorr-”

“Don’t, Michael. Just…don’t.”

And with that he walked away.


	12. Dos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So while writing things got kind of carried away and this story is going to end up being a few chapters longer than I originally expected so yaaaaaaaaay

"Hold still," Jack said to his boss in annoyance.

Geoff crossed his arms but listened to the younger man. Caleb was working on wiping the blood off of Michael while Jack was doing the same for Geoff. Although Michael had quite a few more injuries from protecting the older man.

"I can't believe they got him," he murmured softly.

Silence filled the room and the two men continued to work. After a few minutes the rest of the gang involved in the fight entered the room. The quiet remained until Caleb finished sewing a particularly deep cut on Michael’s cheek. He had gotten in a knife fight with one of the two attackers and was momentarily distracted when he lunged and made his mark. He had gotten away before Michael could do anything about it, much to his annoyance.

“I’m sure you guys know that we lost one of our own today,” Geoff began, waving Jack away.

The ginger moved closer to the lads and Ryan ready to listen to what his boss had to say.

“Burns blindsided us. We were expecting him to show up to the drug deal but not with so many men that were out for blood. We were unprepared and because of that Kerry lost his life. This won’t happen again and I’m done playing nice. I need everyone to forget whatever project they’re currently working on and focus on this. We have to take Burns down once and for all,” he finishes.

\-----

Michael had been doing his own work on the side to find out more about the infamous Burnie Burns. He wanted to know every little possible detail about this man’s life so he could take him down personally. As much as he hated to deny Geoff the opportunity, this was something he wanted to do himself. No, this was something he needed to do himself. Which is why he hired one of the best private investigators in Texas, a man by the name of Jonas Smith. Since he owned his own business he had good connections that the boxer deemed valuable. Since Smith wasn’t affiliated with any particular gang, he wouldn’t choose sides and leave Michael in the dust. Well, so he thought.

“What do you need to know about this man?” Smith asked.

“I want to know everything. Even the little things that don’t seem important to you. If he takes a shit at a gas station at eleven in the evening, I want to know about it. Never let him out of your sight and don’t let him know he’s being watched.”

The private investigator nodded, accepting the terms immediately. The check with a few zeroes in his pocket sure didn’t hurt his decision to take the case.

“If it comes down to it and you aren’t having any luck with getting this information, I want you to go undercover. Go in and get a job working for him and earn his trust.”

That’s exactly what ended up happening. Burns had too many men watching over him for Smith to be able to track him without the risk of being noticed. So he did as Michael had said and joined them on the inside. He quickly went up in the ranks and had earned Burnie’s trust, or so he thought. One day when he was walking home someone grabbed him and put a bag over his head, throwing him into a car. It was only a five minute drive but it caused him to have a panic attack.

They dragged Smith into the building and down several flights of stairs until they got to the basement and tied him to a chair. Someone took the bag off of his head and he had to blink several times to get used to the light. He gasped when he saw the face before him.

“You think you can fool me, Jonas?” he questioned.

Jonas shook his head, his heart beginning to beat harder and faster. They were going to kill him plain and simple.

“It’s a good thing Free caught on to you so quickly. Or else you could have gotten some information that would force me to have to kill you. Quite a tragedy, really,” Burnie said without care.

Jonas gulped. This could mean that they weren’t planning to kill him.

“Now, you’re going to tell me who hired you.”

The private investigator shook his head again, causing the gang leader to smile.

“The funny thing is, Jonas, you don’t have a choice. I have my ways of making people talk.”

Jonas spilled all of the information he had on his client. It wasn’t much but it seemed to satisfy the taller man.

“Good job, Jonas. Now you’re going to go home and act like none of this happened so you can get more on Jones for me. Get the hell out of my sight.”

Burns men put the bag back over his head and led him out to the van where they drove him back to his apartment. He couldn’t believe that he got caught so quickly. If it wasn’t for Free he’d be safe and wouldn’t have to make this stupid decision: to work for Michael or to work for Burnie.

\-----

It didn’t take Michael long to figure out something was wrong with the man he hired. He became more elusive and gave simple one-word answers to his questions. After a week the boxer got sick of playing that game. During his daily meeting with the man he knocked him out with a briefcase and drug him to one of the interrogation rooms that didn’t track cameras or audio. Everyone who used this room had the same purpose.

Once Smith finally came to he discovered he was in an unfamiliar room but that he wasn’t tied to anything either. It gave him hope that he could escape. Well, until he looked up and saw Michael blocking the only exit in the room.

“When I asked you to go in and work undercover, I didn’t mean for you to work against me. My plans are ruined thanks to you,” he murmured softly.

“Please, I’ll do anything…”

“You didn’t follow orders, Smith. You know what happens when people don’t follow orders,” he drawled as he pulled out his gun slowly, so as to tantalize the man.

“I did, though! It was that idiot, Free that screwed it up!” he shouted.

Michael rolled his eyes, something as insignificant as Free shouldn’t be enough to stop his plans. Secretly he couldn’t help but wonder what Gavin had done but he didn’t trust Jonas enough to give him a real answer.

“I’m tired of hearing excuses, Smith. Say goodbye.”

“Sir, please-”

Those were the last words Michael heard Smith say before pulling the trigger.


	13. Protection

“With all due respect, sir, this is one of the dumbest plans you’ve had lately,” Ryan stated to his boss.

Geoff rubbed his face in annoyance and glared at the younger man.

“I don’t give a shit what you think, Haywood and you better check where you stand. I’m doing what’s best for my men,” he retorts.

Ryan immediately backs down. Even though they were all friends, Geoff was a boss first.

“Everyone pack your shit and get ready to go. We’re moving into one of the safehouses until further notice.”

The five other men got up and did as they were told. It didn’t take long for them to get to their apartments and back to the gang headquarters. Michael and Gavin got back at the same time and glared at the Brit.

“Why did you fuck up my plans?” he had to try hard to not shout.

Gavin bit his lip and ran his hand through his hair nervously.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Michael put his bag down and shoved the Brit into the nearest closet making sure to lock the door.

“Fucking bullshit, Gavin. You know exactly what you did. Just tell me why.”

“I had to, Michael,” he finally responded quietly. “He was going to interfere with my work!”

Michael seethed and grabbed Gavin shaking him.

“What work?! You act like you’re actually working for Burnie now!”

Gavin looks down in shame.

“I’d never work for him. But he has information I need...I have to find out what happened between Geoff and Griffon,” he explained still keeping his soft tone.

The boxer let him go and unlocked the door, walking out without saying anything more.

\-----

The group went to one of Geoff’s oldest safe houses on the very north end of town. It was easily big enough for the six of them with seven bedrooms and three bathrooms spread out between three floors. Ryan helped Gavin set up all of his computer and tracking technology in the basement while Michael set up some of his stuff to practice boxing. He couldn’t get out of shape since he wouldn’t be competing for a while.

Geoff and Jack set up the cameras around the house and Ray worked on setting traps for any unwanted visitors.

“Meg is keeping me updated on what’s going on at the headquarters,” Geoff says once they get everything ready.

Gavin fidgeted around uncomfortably and walked to the kitchen to make tea. He didn’t hear Geoff come up behind and dropped his cup when the older man cleared his throat.

“What’s going on, Gav? You’ve been quite jumpy lately. Especially around me,” he states suspiciously.

Gavin looked around everywhere but as his boss. He’d been wanting to bring up what he had found out, but never had the courage. This time seemed as good as any.

“What really happened between you and Griffon?” he finally asked.

Geoff blinked and stared hard at him crossing his arms.

“Why do you ask?” he countered.

“How do I know you’re not going to kill us?! Is that why you brought us here?! Going to take care of us like you took care of Griffon?”

Geoff shoved the taller man against the counter and got in his face.

“You don’t know anything about that, Free. So keep your big nose out of business that isn’t yours.”

The click of a gun got the two mens attention.

“I’ve actually been wondering about the same thing,” Ryan commented.

“How do you guys even know about this?” Geoff questioned while reaching for his gun.

“Nope, keep your hands where I can see them. Burnie gave Gavin a bit of information on what happened between you and your old partner, boss. I’ve been looking into it myself but haven’t been able to come up with anything. So I really don’t trust you at the moment.”

The gang leader looked between the two men and saw he was outnumbered. While Ryan was talking, Gavin had gotten his gun out and was ready to fire.

“Well you may as well get everyone in here so I don’t have to explain myself twice,” he decided.

Ryan called in the rest of the group and they put away their weapons much to their bosses relief.

“I’ll just start from the beginning, then. Grif had been my partner when I first started this gang. We were going to take over Achievement City together and get married soon after. We had been forming this plan for so long and it was time to finally implement it,” he began.

“My friend Burnie Burns was with us, too. He did more of the behind-the-scenes work while me and Griffon made sure everyone knew our faces and would feel fear. We did all of the dirty work while Burnie did most of the planning. Well, somewhere along the way Burnie got it in his mind that he could start his own gang and didn’t need me. I sometimes wonder if that was his plan from the beginning, honestly.

He had told Griffon that I couldn’t be trusted. I was the one who had committed these horrible crimes against her family several years before. It was what made her the woman she was. She wanted to get revenge on those that had destroyed her family. Burnie had forged some papers and made it look like I was the bad guy and she was convinced that I was only dating her so I could bring her down later.

We had a plan to rob a bank one day and something had felt off from the beginning, but I didn’t look too far into it. By then we were becoming more well-known. Once we had gotten the money Griffon yelled at me that there was a police officer about to shoot me. I turned around and felt her bullet pierce my thigh then another in my chest. The pain was unbearable.

She came up to me and was about to take the kill shot when a police officer walked in and shot her making her fall to the floor. I had just enough time and energy to get us out of there. The van was ready and waiting for us to I had the driver take us back to our headquarters. The guards took Grif to one of the cells so I could recover and talk to her myself. It had to have been the adrenaline that kept me going for so long.

I had to have surgery and blah blah blah none of that is really important. Anyway, I finally got to question her. She told me everything Burnie had accused me of and how she hated me for what she thought I did. It was obvious that she was convinced I killed her family and there was nothing I could do to change her mind. She got up from the chair and pulled a gun on me. The guards must have forgotten to check her for weapons.

Before she got the chance to fire I shot her. It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do. My enemies couldn’t know that my partner had been killed so I had to hide her and make it as if she never existed. I guess Burnie kept some of those files, though,” he finished.

Ryan looked at him in amazement. That was a story that no one was expecting.


	14. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so hard to believe guys, it's almost over. I just finished writing last night and I'm still amazed with how well this fic has done, I wasn't expecting nearly as many fans. There's going to be three more chapters after this. Thank you!

Everyone felt more at ease once they got an explanation of Geoff’s past. Gavin went up to Michael later that night when he was making dinner.

“Hey, Michael. Can we talk?” he asked shyly.

The shorter man stopped stirring the sauce and turned his head slightly.

“After dinner.”

He finished making spaghetti not long after and everyone sat the table, moving blueprints out of the way.

“We have a lot of planning to do to take down Burns and his gang. Anyone have any ideas?” Geoff questioned while everyone got their food ready.

“I say we bring them to us,” Ryan responded. “It gives us the upper hand since we’ll have an idea of what to expect. I know you have a heist that you wanted to do. We could let Gavin slip that it’s coming up and act like he shouldn’t have known it was going on.”

“It helps that Burnie thinks I’ve been around his office too much and doesn’t want to arouse suspicion,” Gavin added.

Geoff agreed and finished eating, putting his bowl in the sink.

“Jack get everything together all the weapons that we’ll need for the heist. Call the guys that owe us the biggest favors. Ryan go scope out the location with Michael and try to see what kind of security they have. I know it’s just a convenience store but they have a shit ton of money. Ray, I want you to check out the surrounding buildings and find the best one for sniping. Gavin you’ll be staying behind the scenes on the computer so you can track things for us. I want to know when Burnie is on his way and how many men he’s bringing. What men we don’t take out I want to attach a tracker to their vehicles.”

The group easily agreed and moved around to do their designated task.

“Oh, and Ryan, go ahead and get some explosives ready if you get the chance,” Geoff added.

He grinned and nodded, excited for the opportunity.

\-----

It didn’t take Ryan and Michael long to get to the convenience store. They walked around casually and each bought something so they wouldn’t look suspicious. Once they figured out where all of the money was kept, the headed out to the alley to find escape routes.

“So...what’s going on between you and Ray?” Michael asked.

Ryan spit out the soda he had just taken a sip of and stared at the shorter man.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he finally replied.

Michael smirked at the masked man while committing the layout to memory.

“You guys aren’t as secretive as you think. I’ve seen a few kisses here and there.”

Ryan acted like he hadn’t heard the boxer and continued walking around. Once they had found at least three different escape routes they headed back to the car with Ryan getting into the driver’s seat.

“What’ll it take for you to keep your mouth shut?” he finally asked.

Michael’s grin got impossibly bigger.

“I wouldn’t dream of spilling one of your secrets, Ryan. Not that I’m the biggest fan of Ray even though he saved my life...but it wouldn’t hurt if you taught me how to make some explosives,” he decided.

Ryan pursed his lips in thought and slowly shook his head.

“Deal. We can start tonight.”

\-----

After Ryan had shown Michael everything he wanted to know about explosives the guys decided to call it a night.

“I’ll take first watch,” Jack announced, putting his phone in his pocket. “I just finished talking to Jerry. He’ll have what we need by tomorrow around noon so a couple of us will have to make a trip into town.”

“We’ll worry about all of that in the morning. I’m taking second watch,” Geoff declared and made his way towards the stairs.

Once everyone was in their rooms, Ryan heard his door creak open. He quickly grabbed his blanket to cover his face since he had just taken his mask off when he realized it was Ray.

“Oh, hey. What’s up?” the older man questioned.

Ray had a small smile and closed the door gently making his way to the bed.

“We haven’t gotten too much alone time since we got here. I miss you,” he admitted sheepishly.

Ryan’s expression softened and he kissed his boyfriend chastely.

“We need to be more careful about our relationship, Ray. Michael knew about it and I had to teach him about explosives to get him to keep his mouth shut.”

The assassin nodded solemnly and bit his lip.

“I suspected he knew but didn’t want to bring it up. Is he...creeped out?”

Ryan chuckled and wrapped his arms around Ray’s waist nuzzling his neck.

“No way. I’m pretty sure he has it gay for Gavin.”

The younger man snorted and guided Ryan’s face away from his neck so he could look him in the eye.

“You know if things go wrong and push comes to shove, I’m going to protect you first.”  
Ryan clenched his jaw and look away.

“I was afraid of that. I’m even more afraid to say I feel the same,” he murmured.

\-----

“Alright, you assholes in position?” Geoff’s voice rang through their earpieces.

Everyone confirmed they were ready and Geoff made the signal that it was time to go. Michael went in the store with him, masks in place.

“Put the money in the bag and no one gets hurt!” he screamed.

The man running the register did as told and the taller man smirked. He could hear cars coming and he was pretty sure he knew who it was. So far things were going according to plan. The man finished putting the money in the bag and Michael grabbed it right when Burnie’s men came running in.

“Put it down, Ramsey! You’re coming with us,” the leader demanded. Michael instantly recognized the voice as Lindsay’s.

“Now, Ray!” Geoff yelled and grabbed Michael diving to the floor.

He heard Ray hitting the targets with his sniper then the explosion of their vehicles. Ryan had been hiding in one of the alleys waiting for the perfect moment.

“They have back-up coming in, lads. It’s time to move out,” Gavin said.

Michael nodded and ran with the boss out of the convenience store into the car Jack had waiting. Ray jumped down from the roof of his building and got on the motorcycle, following the others back to their hideout.

“Everyone okay?” Jack asked.

“Yeah me and Geoff are okay,” Michael replied.

“I’m good. Right behind you guys,” Ray stated.

They waited for the third man’s reply but got nothing.

“Ryan? Report in,” Jack said in a panic.

There was still no reply and Geoff took charge again.

“Turn this car around. We’re going to find him.”


	15. Kidnapped

They split off into two different groups to look for Ryan. Geoff left with Jack while Michael went off with Gavin and Ray. Ray personally wanted to go searching on his own for his boyfriend, but he had agreed with Ryan that they wouldn’t let their relationship be known. Him being kidnapped didn’t change  that. The lads went to the alley that he was supposed to be in with Ray taking the lead and the others didn’t question it. They found nothing too out of the ordinary, aside from the fact that Ryan left his bag of explosives behind the dumpster which made Ray’s blood run cold.

“He wouldn’t go anywhere without this unless he absolutely had to,” the assassin stated nervously.

Michael agreed and picked it up, peering inside. It was empty.

“Wherever he went, he’s going down fighting. He still has his guns and I’m hoping it was him that took the explosives. It would have been a bit suspicious for him to take the whole bag,” the boxer reasoned.

Gavin took out his phone and looked at the tracking device hooked up to everyone’s earpieces. He was glad he remembered it.

“Guys, he’s on the move. Going somewhere north of here and I think he’s on foot based on how slow he’s moving.”

Michael and Ray immediately started running towards the end of the alley and each got on a motorcycle, Gavin choosing to ride with the boxer. He gave directions and it took the three of them only a few minutes to get to the red dot on Gavin’s phone.

“Here, he’s in this apartment,” the Brit said.

Ray took the lead making sure no one was waiting for them while Michael kept looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was following them.

“Apartment 4B.”

They made their way up the four flights of stairs. Ray peered around the corner and motioned for the two of them to follow. Moving slowly and keeping their ears open, Michael got to the door first and turned the knob the door swinging open. He entered slowly and Gavin followed close behind, Ray opting to keep watch in the hall.

“Ryan? Are you here?”

The taller man heard footsteps and followed them to a door which he assumed was the bedroom. Michael was searching through the rest of the apartment and hadn’t caught on to what Gavin had. The Brit opened the door and gasped finally getting the other man’s attention.

“Gav! What is it?” he came running over and stopped in his tracks.

It was clearly one of Burnie’s men but not someone that they had seen before. He was holding Ryan’s mask in one hand and a gun in the other. He raised is slowly and the grin he adopted was malicious.

\-----

Geoff and Jack went in the opposite direction instead choosing to go to one of their pre-determined locations for if things went bad. Jack let Geoff take the lead, even though he was usually first to scout out a place. But when one of Geoff’s men went missing things happened quite differently. Noting that no one was around they walked into the abandoned warehouse and saw a lump on the floor. Geoff ran over quickly and felt for a pulse, realizing the man was in fine condition just unconscious. Jack turned him over and sighed with relief.

“He’s just knocked out. Go ahead and message the other guys that we finally found him,” Geoff ordered.

Jack nodded obediently and did as told. Geoff poured water on the younger man’s face trying to rouse him to no avail.

“It looked like he got knocked on the back of his head,” he determined once he found the bump,

“who is good enough to do this to Ryan one of the best assassins around,” he continued talking to himself.

He heard Jack’s phone buzz with an incoming message and could tell by the other man’s silence that it wasn’t good news.

“One of Burnie’s men got them. They knew we would split up to look for Ryan. He sent a picture we have to save them…”

Geoff scrubbed his face and clenched his jaw in anger.

“We can’t do that, Jack. They’re obviously expecting us and they’ll take us down. We have to have the faith that they can get themselves out because we can’t play into their trap, Jack. We have to get the upper hand back.”

Jack could hear the desperation in his voice and couldn’t find it in him to argue.

\-----

“When we get out of here we have to get back to the safe house. I hope Geoff and Jack are smart enough to go back there,” Ray murmured to the lads.

He was the first to break the silence. Michael still couldn’t believe that they had been caught by such an amateur. It was obvious from the way the attacker tied them up, it wouldn’t take much to get out of those ropes. Ray got one of his hidden knives handy and cut himself out quickly freeing everyone else.

“We’ve got to find Ryan,” he insisted which earned him a crazy look from Gavin.

“Ryan isn’t our top priority right now you smeg pot. We need to get out of here before we can do anything,” he replied.

Ray huffed and crossed his arms looking anywhere but at the older man. Michael stepped up to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll find him, buddy. We just need to focus on getting ourselves out of this sticky situation first and chances are that the gents have found him already,” he explained with forced optimism but it seemed to be enough to calm the shorter man.

“There’s an exit over here and I don’t hear anyone on the other side,” Gavin stated.

The boxer walked towards him and listened closely only to agree.

“Should we be worried about the lack of security here? This too easy. Either his men are total idiots or they’re brilliant. Let’s hope they’re idiots.”

It didn’t take long for them to escape with Michael hotwiring a car, driving to the safe house. They had run into no one on the way there and Ray made sure that they weren’t followed. They all recognized the car in the driveway and ran inside with Gavin trailing at the end.

“Ryan!” Ray yelled once he got inside and made his way to his boyfriend.

The older man winced at the loud tone but still smiled.

“Aw, were you worried about me?”

The younger man stuck his tongue out and hugged him close.

“You’re never getting away from me again.”

Geoff raised an eyebrow and looked at his gang questioningly. Michael looked away while the other two had equal looks of confusion.

“What the hell is going on here?” he finally spoke up.

Ryan paused and turned slowly towards the boss, blushing. In the excitement of the moment he had forgotten that their relationship was to stay secret. It appeared Ray had momentarily forgotten as well.

“Uh...I can explain.”

 


	16. Tres

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it guys, the big battle. I really hope you guys have enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. After this there's just one more chapter to tie up any loose ends.

The two of them had gone silent after Geoff crossed his arms and gave them a cold stare. He opened his mouth to say something but alarms going off interrupted him.

“We’ll talk about this later. Gavin, who tripped the alarms?”

Gavin opened his laptop and clicked around for a moment before his eyes widened in horror.

“I thought we’d get more time...it’s Burnie’s men. They must have followed one of us.”

The reaction was quick and simultaneous with each man grabbing his own gun.

“Ryan, you’re still injured from getting knocked on the head. You should go in one of the rooms where it’s safe,” Jack stated.

Ryan shook his head and looked to Geoff, knowing his decision would be the final word.

“We need him, Jack. We have an idea of how many of his men are here now but who knows how many more are on the way. But I want him to stay upstairs so we can try and keep some element of surprise. Gavin, start calling in backup while we fight and join in once you’re done. I don’t like being down one guy even for such a short amount of him but we don’t have a choice.”

The Brit did as he was told and walked downstairs quickly while the door busted open.

“We’ve got you, Ramsey. It’s about time,” the man in front said.

Michael looked to his boss and saw him clench his jaw. They knew Burnie would show up eventually but were not expecting him to be leading this group.

“Burnie, I had been hoping to never see you again after how you betrayed me. You’re starting to show your age.”

Burnie chuckled and shook his head. Pulling his gun out of his pocket he slowly raised it at his rival and made a motion towards the people behind him.

“You guys worry about his men. It won’t take too long to take them out. I’d rather you didn’t kill them but do what you must.”

Blaine nodded and started heading towards Michael who grinned.

“It’s been a while since we’ve run into each other, pretty boy. You sure you want to start this?” the boxer asked menacingly while cracking his knuckles and stretching.

Blaine paused and looked to the woman on his right who just happened to be Lindsay.

“You worry about finding Gavin. I’ll deal with Mikey boy here,” she said.

He nodded gratefully and made his way towards the stairs with two men following closely behind.

“I don’t think so,” Ray spoke up and started running after them, officially making the first move.

He did a good job of avoiding the bullets and getting to fire off a few rounds himself. He tackled Blaine to the ground and punched him in the face, knocking him out rather quickly. His men looked stunned and confused without their leader being able to tell them what to do next.

Michael had been watching the action ready to jump in at any point so he didn’t see Lindsay running towards him until it was too late. She kicked him in the stomach causing him to double over when the wind was knocked out of him. While he was bent over she pushed him to the ground and held a foot at his throat to keep him in place.

“I didn’t get the chance to finish you off before. I’m glad we get the opportunity to have an actual fight, this is going to be fun.”

Michael grabbed her ankle and twisted it, throwing her off balance. He pulled her to the ground and slammed her head against the floor making her dazed for a second. He grabbed her gun and slid it to Ray and caught the rope that the younger men threw him to tie her up.

While this had all been going on Jack was busy helping Geoff fight off a few of Burnie’s men. Once the leader of the rival gang had finished speaking he left ordering the men to capture Ramsey and bring him back alive. So far Burnie’s men were having trouble with catching the men. It was clear that some of them were new and this was possibly their first mission.

Ray turned his back on Blaine and his men once he got them subdued. Gavin made his way upstairs and nodded towards Geoff not stopping to see if he had gotten the message. One of Burnie’s men had noticed his appearance and ran towards the taller man punching him in the face. Gavin heard the crack and felt the blood spurt out of his nose.

“Leave him alone!” Michael shouted as he tackled the man to the ground.

Lindsay took the opportunity of him being distracted to get out of her binds and pull a knife out of her boot.

“Michael! Watch your back!” Ray exclaimed but it was too late.

Lindsay plunged the knife in his side and fell back with a shout of pain. Ray took over for his friend and knocked the man out that had attacked Gavin then turned to the red head.

“I’ll give you to the count of three to get out of here,” he said menacingly.

She simply laughed and shook her head, nodding to the man she had stabbed.

“I can’t leave without my knife silly boy.”

He charged at her but was unsuccessful in tackling her. Instead she saw what he was going to do and used his momentum against him, shoving him into the wall. He got up ready to try again but she was faster and got him in a choke hold. Gavin looked on in horror as each of his teammates were taken down. Lindsay had Ray in a choke hold, Michael couldn’t move without causing himself more pain, Jack was being held on the floor and Geoff had a different man holding each arm.

The computer guy didn’t know what to do. He rarely had to go out into the field and when he did it never came to this. Geoff always had the upper hand. That’s when it dawned on him that the whole team wasn’t fighting. As far as they were concerned, Ryan hadn’t been found yet. Gavin snuck behind a few of the guys and up the stairs making his way to Ryan’s room. He had been expecting to run into some of Burnie’s men up here and was surprised when he didn’t.

“Ryan!” he whisper-shouted once he got to the man’s bedroom door.

After a moment of silent it opened slowly and the masked man poked his head out.

“Gavin! Is everything okay down there?”

He shook his head and made wild gestures.

“Everyone is subdued. I don’t know what to do!”

Ryan could see the panic on the younger man’s face and he felt sympathy.

“Stay here.”

The Mad King made his way down the stairs and saw what Gavin was talking about. It was total chaos everywhere. Ray had started to turn blue and Michael was still bleeding from the knife in his side. Jack had been knocked unconscious and Burnie’s men were trying to drag Geoff out of the house.

“I don’t think so,” Ryan said in his deep menacing voice.

Blaine, who had woken up, was one of the guys attempting to get Geoff outside. He did a double take when he realized who had spoken and looked to Lindsay in a panic. She released Ray and walked away as he gasped for air.

“I can take him. You guys get Ramsey and get the hell out of here.”

Ryan chuckled and shook his head. It always made things more fun when he had a worthy rival.

“As I said previously, I don’t think so. The only way you’re getting him is over my dead body.”

She cracked her knuckles and pulled another knife out.

“I’ve been doing research on you guys and I must say that I’m surprised. I was expecting a much more...intense fight. This was quite easy, how disappointing.”

Instead of replying, Ryan lunged forward and tackled Lindsay to the ground kicking her knife away once she dropped it.

“Didn’t your boss teach you to never bring a knife to a gunfight? Although I must admit that I prefer knives myself.”

She headbutted him to get him off and kicked him in the side. He jumped up wincing slightly but otherwise uninjured and drew his gun aiming it between her eyes. It didn’t take her long to realize that help wasn’t coming. Once Ryan had gotten her attention, Gavin had snuck down and helped the rest of the crew who were all ready to fight.

“You win this round, your royal highness. We’ll be back.”

She jumped through the nearest window but not before Ryan could fire a shot. He could tell she had been hit by the way she slowed but it didn’t stop her escape.

“We need to end this. I’m not going to keep living on the run,” Geoff spoke.

The other agreed and someone knocking on the door caught their attention.

“I must say, I’m disappointed in how my crew fought you guys. I had higher expectations. No matter, I’ll just take you out here and now,” Burnie scoffed.

Geoff’s eyes turned hard and he grabbed Ryan’s gun before he could even react, aiming and firing at his once best friend.

 


	17. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so hard to believe that this story is complete. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I loved all of the feedback. I'm currently working on another story so be watching out the next couple of weeks if you want to read it. Thank you guys so much

“Hurry up guys! It’s almost time!”

Ryan rolled his eyes at Gavin and gently nudged him.

“Shut up. We know it’s almost time. Who the hell gave you coffee?”

Michael looked up from the computer guiltily then smiled.

“He didn’t get much sleep last night. He was too hyper for today so I gave him coffee to keep him up,” he defended.

Ray pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his laptop.

“Gavin’s right, it’s almost time. Get off of your computers and shit and let’s go.”

Three laptops closed simultaneously and everyone stood up making their ways towards the door.

“Is Geoff already there?” Gavin asked.

“Yeah, he’s finishing some last minute details. This is a really big day for him, I’m surprised we ever got this far,” Ray replied honestly.

When all of the stuff with Burnie had started, no one was expecting the outcome. They all had their hopes but things had turned out oh so differently than anyone could have thought.

Geoff hadn’t hesitated to kill him when the opportunity presented itself. Burnie’s men immediately stood down and only a couple tried to fight back but were quickly taken down. Jack had been expecting the rest of the crew to turn and run but instead one of the men they didn’t recognize stepped forward.

“Is it possible for us to end this peacefully? What if we join your crew?”

Ryan paused and looked around the room noting all of the looks of surprises before finally settling on his boss. With knowing him well enough he could see the curiosity in his eyes but otherwise his expression didn’t change.

“And why would I have you guys join my crew? I take only the best.”

Lindsay walked in the front door with a hand covering the part of her thigh that Ryan had shot.

“I never wanted to work for Burnie but he had dirt on me. In order for him to not blab about it I had to do his dirty work for him. Now that he’s dead, I have nothing holding me back anymore.”

Ryan winced and felt slightly guilty for shooting her. He never thought about the reasons behind why these people would work for Burnie.

It was just then that back up showed up and when the first group walked in, Geoff held his hand up to keep them from talking.

“Thank you for showing up but you’re a bit late. We have things under control.”

Some of the people were clearly miffed for not being needed but didn’t dare question anything the boss had to say.

“If you guys are serious about wanting to join my gang and work hard, then maybe we can discuss something. You guys would really have to prove yourselves worthy of working for me. You’ll go through some rigorous testing although, Lindsay, you’ve already proved yourself. I’d like to speak with you one-on-one when we get back if you’re interested. Now, those who want to work for me go to the headquarters and I’ll let them know you’re on your way. The rest of you have two minutes to get the hell out of my sight or I’ll give the orders to shoot first and ask questions later.”

About five people turned and ran whereas the rest stayed behind and waited for the okay for them to start making their ways towards the headquarters.

\-----

Six months had passed since the fight at the safe house and things had never been better for the gang. They had become the number one criminals now with their biggest rivals out of the way and it was enough to keep most gangs off of their backs for the time being. Ryan knew it would only be a short amount of time before someone else tried to test them.

Today was a day that almost everyone had been looking forward to. They would be finding out which of the men and women from Burnie’s old gang would be joining them. Geoff hadn’t been lying when he said that they would have to prove themselves worthy. He had sent them one some of the most dangerous drug exchanges and heists that the crew had ever seen. The only thing that was common knowledge is that Geoff would only allow three of the old members to join and that he had some big news to tell everyone.

His main group made their way to the lobby, excluding Jack. He had been sticking close to Geoff lately to ensure his safety even though the man had proved himself capable of taking care of himself over and over again. It took only a few minutes for the lobby to fill up and Geoff cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Okay, guys. You all know why we’re here so I won’t bother explaining anything and get right to the point. The members of Burnie’s old gang that will be joining us is Lindsay Tuggey, Barbara Dunkelman, and Blaine Gibson. Clap and do whatever the hell you want, I’m going to get a drink once we’re done here.”

Lindsay blushed when she heard her name and a few people clapped while others looked around suspiciously. They still didn’t trust the members of their biggest rival but didn’t speak up since Geoff said he trusted them enough.

“As you guys know, things for us have been going great lately. But it’s time for a change. I’ve done what I’ve needed to do to reach my goal and I have so now I believe it’s time for me to step down.”

There were a few gasps and a murmur rang out among the crew. Geoff cleared his throat again.

“If you dickheads are done talking, I’d like to tell you who I’m appointing as your new leader. He really proved himself while dealing with all of this shit with the Burns gang. So, Michael, I’d like you to take over.”

Michael could feel the stares turn his way and there were some questioning looks but he’d had no idea that this was going to happen.

“You have been there for me since I first met you in that dingy bar all those years ago. I took you in and you’ve done everything you can to repay me. You’ve turned into a strong man and you deserve this,” Geoff concluded.

Michael made his way to the front and pulled Geoff in for a big hug.

“Thank you, Geoff. You’re one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

More clapping and some cheering ensued. Jack grinned with joy and Gavin came running up, joining the men in their group hug. Ryan wrapped his arm around Ray’s waist and kissed the side of his head, smiling.

“I’m glad things turned out this way.”

 


End file.
